Barbara M. Houle
The Veg Out Food Trailer at Nourse Farm in Westboro is open for its second season, providing a take-out menu that’s filled with made-from-scratch salads, soups, sandwiches, smoothies and snacks that utilize the fresh, healthy food grown on the 140-acre family-owned farm.
Veg Out founder Catherine Nourse said the food trailer parked next to the Farm Store served its first customers in May, getting off to an early start with the asparagus harvest. The farm’s newest vegetable was an instant hit, especially at the food trailer where it was transformed into Age of Asparagus Soup, said Nourse.
Moira Healy is the food trailer’s new culinary creator, bringing more than 30 years of food experience to the business. Nourse describes Healy as a “fantastic person and culinary whiz.”
“I’ve spent my career working in the food service and hospitality industries,” said Healy, “and decided to change direction a little. Plant-based and sustainability is trending in the food industry, and I love the idea of working with Catherine to help introduce more food options. I like to think of it as a new challenge.”
What’s on the menu?
June strawberry season introduced a strawberry-mango salsa and two coconut milk smoothies to the food trailer. Pretty in Pink combined strawberries, rhubarb and mango, while Strawberry Na-Na teamed strawberries and banana.
Good news is that the strawberry pick-your-own season at Nourse Farm got off to a great start and expanded. Strawberries should be available through July 4, according to Nourse, a registered dietitian and Adjunct Faculty/Nutrition Coordinator at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. She definitely talks the talk and walks the walk, helping others enjoy life through healthy food.
FYI: Nourse’s husband, Timothy Nourse, son of David and Hazel Nourse, works in the family business. Farm operator Jonathan Nourse is his uncle.
Last season, Nourse told us the food trailer’s plant-forward concept came with a “side of nutrition education and a smile.” Nothing has changed in 2021, she said, adding that the food trailer’s staff, referred to as “plant promoters,” are back on the job. “We’re so lucky to have them,” said Nourse, the “head veg.” Nourse has a great sense of humor that shines through in the names she gives dishes, such as the How Ya Bean Burger and the Up-Beet Burger. She loves puns!
The farm has tremendous community support, and Nourse, in response to “customers’ requests,” has added a couple of new picnic tables and umbrellas next to the food trailer. Online food orders for pickup are accepted. Check www.noursefarm.com for the farm’s history and info about subscription to the farm’s Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. (FYI: Summer CSA is filled but you can find info for the fall CSA in October.)
More than 40 fruits and vegetables are grown by Nourse Farm, and crop availability changes month to month.
The farm’s timetable for blueberries is after the Fourth of July, “probably more towards mid-July,” according to Nourse, who expects the crop will be ready in time for this month’s farm celebration.
Taste of the Harvest, open to the public, is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. July 18. The focus will be the farm, which celebrates its 300th anniversary next year.
Tasty and nutritious, blueberries this month at the food trailer will be featured in smoothies, in addition to a new blueberry vinaigrette for drizzling over fresh salads. The Farm Store will sell homemade, fresh blueberry pies. Visitors to the store look forward to seasonal fruit pies and other desserts made on premise, said Nourse. On a personal note: A friend, whose husband co-owns a popular Worcester bakery, says she finds the chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven, “irresistible” when she’s at the farm.
The farm’s Cut-Your-Own-Flower field opens this month. For info about pick-your-own, call (508) 366-2644.
Veg Out Food Trailer hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. On a hot summer day, enjoy dishes like Cool as a Cucumber Soup or the light and refreshing U Make Me So Happy Salad that features zucchini noodles, julienned carrots and purple cabbage with a ginger miso dressing.
Farm Store: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Farm produce, specialty products and more!
Nourse Farm, 80 Jasper St., has a self-guided informational trail that gives visitors a chance to walk in fields and learn about the surroundings. The half-mile walk along a dirt road takes “about 20 minutes.”
Nourse Farm is among local farms and farmers markets where you can enjoy a taste of summer.
Taste of Shrewsbury St. returns
The return of Taste of Shrewsbury Street is good news.
The event, canceled last summer due to the pandemic, is scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 24.
Cost will be $25 per person, with admission stickers, and it will feature food, live music and more. The Table Hoppin’ column will list participants closer to the August date.
Also, Roger Bachour looks forward to an August opening of his new business, Meraki Café at 274 Shrewsbury St. The former Dark Rose Saloon space is being renovated and Bachour would like the café to be open in time for Taste of Shrewsbury Street. He will go before the Worcester License Commission before then, he said.
The café will serve desserts, no meals, according to Bachour and his wife, Joanna Bachour, who will work in the business.
Bachour owns Boardroom Kitchen & Bar, 139 Water St., Worcester, and the Whiskey Lounge, 316 Main St., Worcester. He has been associated with the hospitality industry for more than 25 years.
Restaurant Week in August
Circle the date:
Worcester Restaurant Week 2021 is set for Aug. 2-Aug 14.
If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to [email protected].
